Suggested Onion headline

October 7, 2010

How about something like, “MLB awards Phillies a second win for Halladay’s no-no.” Kinda feels like some people – from SI’s Jon Heyman to casual Reds fans on Facebook saying they’ve lost faith – have completely given up on the Reds after ONE GAME.

Impressive feat, no doubt. Also not the end of the world as far as the Reds are concerned. Did anyone think the Reds would win both of the first two games in Philly? Very few, I would imagine. Did Reds fans hope the team could earn a split of the first two games so that they could come to Cincinnati with a chance to win the series here? Sure. Which they still have a chance to do, against a guy (“Little Roy”) who was once dominant against the Reds but hasn’t beaten us since ’08. And is the series even over if the Phils take Game 2? Not as far as I can tell. I’m pretty sure it’s best 3 out of 5.

Anyway, the only other problem I had with Heyman’s column was his suggestion that Cabrera was the only one to complain about Hirschbeck’s strike zone. He may have been the only one to complain verbally AFTER the game. I think it was pretty clear that Rolen had a problem with strike three in the 5th (as I mentioned last night) … he might not have whined about it afterward because he’s a professional and he’s ready to give Halladay his due and move on like the rest of us.

Everyone’s entitled to have a bad day or a bad night, right? It looks especially bad when the opposing pitcher is having a great night. The Reds will get ’em going in Game 2, and hopefully it’s enough to tie the series at 1. Or maybe they’ll shoot for winning the final three games of the series, even if they do have to face Halladay again. I bet they won’t forfeit the game if they do; sure they got no-hit, but they also pounded him once during the regular season (he gave up a season-high 13 hits in Cincinnati on June 30). Anything can happen.